I've always been inspired by interfaces in sci-fi movies and games. Well I should say, not all of them. Historically, alot of it is a bit cheesy and derivative. However, in recent times with films such as Oblivion and the Avengers series, UI in movies has taken a radical step up. I find the layers of complexity and intricate animations fascinating, and, using the tools available to me I decided to see if I could create something by myself that was vaguely comparable in terms of visual fidelity. I also saw this as a great way to improve my motion and 3D skills.

I've always been inspired by interfaces in sci-fi movies and games. Well I should say, not all of them. Historically, alot of it is a bit cheesy and derivative. However, in recent times with films such as Oblivion and the Avengers series, UI in movies has taken a radical step up. I find the layers of complexity and intricate animations fascinating, and, using the tools available to me I decided to see if I could create something by myself that was vaguely comparable in terms of visual fidelity. I also saw this as a great way to improve my motion and 3D skills.

I decided that my interface would be loosely resembling that of a control centre for a spaceship. This theme left things open-ended enough that I could allow myself to cover some of the main cornerstones of Sci-Fi UI. I knew that where would be a "cockpit" style view for flying the ship, but also auxiliary screens to cover navigation and diagnostic systems. 

Whilst I wanted my interface to appear to be "functional" and realistic, it dawned on me fairly early in the project that one of the key features of a Sci-Fi interface is an element of mystery. Yes, there are buttons that appear to do things that are familiar, but if every aspect of the UI was familiar, it wouldn't "feel" like a SciFi interface. It should feel somewhat exotic and advanced beyond current preconceptions. 

A key feature of this type of UI (and the biggest challenge) is the visual complexity and richness. However, whilst much of the UI would be bespoke and probably take large amounts of time, I knew there were ways I could speed up and optimise the process.

I decided to go for a modular system, creating "widgets" each containing their own little animations, then arranging these together into layouts. The key was leverage the power of the widgets, but without the repetition ever being too noticeable. Each screen still needed to appear bespoke and have its own story.

Before I could make these widgets however, I needed make the bones that would make those widgets. This entailed opening up Adobe illustrator and thrashing out lots of shapes. 

Whilst lots of fussy detail was important, I realised everything must also hang on a prominent "hero" element. This is crucial in order to avoid the UI simply becoming rigid and dull. The hero element must have in itself high visual interest, and prominent enough to draw in even the casual observer. 

For my hero elements I decided to use software like Cinema4D and certain Adobe AfterEffects plugins in order to achieve a level of depth and richness. I intended for my interface to have a somewhat 3D feel to it (even if most of the elements were technically 2D), as if objects were floating in space

From the outset of this project I was daunted by the task of creating six highly-detailed and animated screens. However, one of the key lessons this project taught me was the power of breaking down large tasks into smaller tasks, and applying consistent daily effort to gradually chip away at them. Spending an hour or two each day, I was ultimately able to cover lots of ground. The key was consistency! 

It has inspired me to utilise animation and software like AfterEffects in other projects, particularly for interaction design.